The Little Recovery That Could…Well, Maybe

Remember the recovery? It began officially way back in the middle of 2009, 18 months after the financial system—and then everything else in the American economy—fell apart. Given that nobody has seen much of a raise since then, and unemployment is still above 8%, you’d be forgiven for not noticing that there’s been a rebound—until, maybe, now.

WASHINGTON: The U.S. unemployment rate - now just 5.1 percent - grabs a lot of the attention each month when the government issues its jobs data. Yet the rate doesn't come close to sketching a full picture of the job market. So just how healthy is the U.S. labor market? It's a hard question to answer in the aftermath of the Great Recession, which produced only a tepid recovery and left damage that still isn't fully repaired.

Today we are fortunate to have a guest contribution written by Jeffrey Frankel, Harpel Professor of Capital Formation and Growth at Harvard University, and former Member of the Council of Economic Advisers, 1997-99.

(WASHINGTON) — The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits rose last week by 17,000, reversing four weeks of declines. But the number of people seeking aid is consistent with a job market that continues to grow modestly. Unemployment claims rose the week of Dec. 15 to a seasonally adjusted 361,000 from a revised 344,000 the week before. The less-volatile four-week moving average fell 13,750 to 367,750, lowest since late October. Applications had surged in early November after Superstorm Sandy, then dropped back. (MORE: Weekly U.S.

(WASHINGTON) — The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits rose last week by 17,000, reversing four weeks of declines. But the number of people seeking aid is consistent with a job market that continues to grow modestly. Unemployment claims rose the week of Dec. 15 to a seasonally adjusted 361,000 from a revised 344,000 the week before. The less-volatile four-week moving average fell 13,750 to 367,750, lowest since late October. Applications had surged in early November after Superstorm Sandy, then dropped back. (MORE: Weekly U.S.

ATHENS — Greece’s jobless rate hit a new record high of 27.6% in May, official national data showed on Thursday as the country staggers under austerity linked to its international bailout.
Data showed that those aged 15 to 24 remained the hardest-hit as the jobless rate for this age group registered 64.9%.

LONDON — The Bank of England overhauled its policy strategy on Wednesday, saying it planned to keep interest rates at a record low until unemployment falls to 7% or below, something unlikely for another three years.
Barely a month after Canadian Mark Carney took over as governor, the central bank said it would keep interest rates at 0.5% unless inflation threatened to get out of control or there was a danger to financial stability.